Dreaming of the Sun
by SugarSnaps037
Summary: (Infinity War Spoilers) After Infinity War Thor has lost everything. Things he can only reclaim in dreams. But can dreams bring more than just temporary solace. Loki may have the answer.


**Wow, it's been a while since I've done this! That's life I guess. With Infinity War out there though, I just had to have a little more Loki and Thor brotherliness.**

 **Standard disclaimer: I own nothing of the franchise. I just play with it every once in a while**

The sunset was magnificent.

Thor loved how the cascading golds and purples and pinks bathed the ground of Asgard and how the fading rays danced off the palace, alighting the spires in a warm, amber hue.

This was a dream, of course. Thor knew this. After all, he watched his planet blow apart with his own eyes…well, eye. Another sacrifice to Ragnorok left on his ill-fated homeworld. It hardly mattered. He could still gaze upon the world he remembered, and as he would only be able to see it in dreams from now on, he was content to linger on the balcony a while longer.

And yet…he knew he had to move on. With a heavy sigh laced with love and sorrow, the last Asgardian turned from the view. He then walked down through opaque, purple curtains that idly blew in the gentle breeze.

"The sunsets always were beautiful," murmured an all too familiar voice and suddenly Thor was rooted to the marble floor of his old bed chamber. He cannot leave now. Not yet. Agonizingly slowly, praying to any who would listen that this moment could last, the thunderer returned his eye to the balcony. Silhouetted through the purple haze stood none other than the trickster, the god of mischief… his brother.

"Yes, they were," Thor dragged out in barely more than a broken whisper.

Loki only sighed. "You should not mourn me, brother," he chided softly. "I am not wo – "

"Don't!" Thor cried. "Do not say such a thing! It will never be true! Not for me."

Loki hung his head and let a sad, fond smile form on his lips. "Well, I suppose it matters not," and then he began to walk. Still veiled in the curtains hanging from the arches, he nearly left Thor behind. Eventually, the elder's mind caught up with this strange dance and propelled his feet after his younger sibling.

"Loki?"

"Yes?"

"You, you won't come back this time, will you," Thor asked, but it broke his heart to do so.

Though Loki's slow, steady steps never faltered, he gazed casually over his shoulder. "I expect not," he replied simply.

Thor's head fell as he desperately tried to keep tears from falling. He had known the answer, but a part of him still hoped…

"Of course," continued the emerald-clad god, "I never expected to return from any of them."

Stunned by the reply, Thor almost missed the shift as Asgard faded behind him and a torn-up wasteland opened before him. Now seeing with two, whole eyes, he looked upon broken, shattered ruins of buildings and ships languishing in a grave of rust colored dust. None of this mattered, however, and Thor could finally see his brother in crystal clarity standing before him. Loki appeared much like he had in his final battle with a cut upon his lip and a scrape upon his brow, but what distressed Thor the most was the deep, purple bruise that covered nearly the entirety of his brother's neck.

"What, what is this place," Thor stammered out more in an attempt to distract himself rather than a desire to know where they truly were.

Loki huffed a short, bitter chuckle. "I guess everyone has a beginning," he answered. "Welcome to Titan."

"So, it was more than just a ridiculous nickname."

"No, it seems the epithet was quite literal."

Thor nodded and allowed his gaze to drop toward the ground where it stubbornly refused to move.

"You needn't let it bother you, brother," Loki spoke in soft tones aimed to comfort. "It doesn't hurt anymore."

The "anymore" caught the thunderer's attention and he was once again looking upon that tender neck. So, the death had been quick, but not painless. This suddenly made Thor's heart ache anew. Oh, how he wished to grasp his younger sibling about the nape as he so often did, but he feared the usually comforting gesture would reignite the pain his brother spoke of.

Loki winced as he realized his mistake. Funny, the liesmith was usually much more careful with his words. "There's still a chance," he hurried on.

"What?" asked Thor dumbly.

"There is still a chance to fix what he has broken," Loki continued, accompanying his words with a nod into the distance.

Turning his head to follow the gesture, Thor noticed a solitary, hunched figure urgently clutching at his left hand. "Stark!?" he breathed.

"Yes, Stark," Loki confirmed, a hint of humor touching his voice. "Somehow, he became the key. The lynchpin to undoing what Thanos has done. Although, it would seem he is in need of a lift…so to speak."

Thor stared at the man of iron, vainly hoping he could suss out this new puzzle with just his eyes. The sound of dirt crunching under boot broke his concentration. As he turned back he saw his brother slowly moving toward the crumpled ruins and immediately he knew that time was not on his side.

"Will I see you again," he called desperately after the retreating figure.

Again, Loki's footfalls continued on. "Perhaps," he called back. "I did tell you, I'm not a witch."

Small as it was, Thor could not help the grin brought by the old joke. "Loki I – "

"I cannot stay, Thor," Loki's exasperated reply cut in, but this time his steps did falter, and the mischief god stole one last glance at his golden brother.

"I know, it's just," and it was strange to see the generally confident warrior so flustered, but then conviction took hold of him. He stood tall and squared his shoulders. "Never doubt that I love you, brother."

Loki did stop then, and his face practically crumpled with a horde of emotions. Far too many for Thor to decipher. "Then know, brother," and Loki's voice cracked at the word that meant so much to him now, "though I've given you so many reasons to doubt. I do love you…I always have." Tears sprung from the younger's eyes and it was only when Thor saw those that he took note of the drops that had laid claim to his own cheeks.

"I do know," came his watery reassurance. How could he not, as Loki had proved it with his last breaths. "I do know."

Loki gave one final nod and turned to continue his journey, wherever that was taking him. "It is time to go, brother." With those words the world began to fade, yet Thor kept his eyes on his brother's back until all finally turned to darkness.

Thor woke not with a start or a shout, but with a slow yawn of his eyelids. He had been so reluctant to leave the dream, but as Loki had noted, he knew he could not stay. With languid limbs that refused to obey their master, he pushed himself up to sit on the edge of the bed the Wakandans had provided. He caught sight of Storm Breaker and was forcibly reminded of his new mission. Ever since Thanos escaped, leaving all worlds devastated, Thor had been lost. He lacked purpose, lacked direction, and at times felt he lacked life. Loki had given all of this back to him and damn Thor to hel if he ignored it. With renewed vigor, Thor stood and maneuvered the axe to the holster on his back.

Thanos won the battle. Now the Avengers would win the war.

 **And there it is. Please review and let me know what you think.**

 **Also, special thanks to my beta Zorpox. She gets cranky if I forget to let her edit these things.**


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